3 Best Movies To Watch On HBO Max This Weekend (November 7-8)

HBO Max subscribers have plenty of new movies to consider watching to start November, and they come with massive stars, with two of them being part of long-running franchises. On last weekend’s HBO Max movie recommendations, I talked about why viewers should check out Evil Dead Burn, the original Scream, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

With two out of the three offerings being horror movies, it is clear that last weekend’s HBO Max list was made with Halloween in mind, but now that the holiday is behind us, I chose to keep our recommendations horror-free this week. Additionally, the new list is fresh in another major way, as all the movies are new arrivals on HBO Max in November.

Just like last month brought films from actors like Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Jon Bernthal, and more to the streaming service, November is already treating HBO Max subscribers well with huge stars and intriguing concepts. Two of the movies on our recommendations come from major franchises, with one of them being a Marvel movie not from the MCU.

The other comes from the biggest dinosaur franchise of all time, being perhaps the most intense live-action dinosaur movie since 1993’s Jurassic Park. The final entry on the HBO Max list is an R-rated spy thriller with a fan-favorite star that will return to her biggest franchise in a couple of weeks. These are the best movies to watch on HBO Max this weekend:

3

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom received some flack back when it was released because it was the most different of the Jurassic Park franchise movies thus far. However, that is why I believe it is a must-watch and has aged well, given how director J. A. Bayona attempted to do something fresh with the iconic movie franchise. Fallen Kingdom‘s first half plays like a regular Jurassic Park movie, with island action that culminates in a fiery plot twist.

However, what I find really compelling is when the movie takes a horror turn and puts the characters with the dinosaurs in an enclosed space, with the humans being haunted inside a mansion. The dinosaur action in tight spaces and the suspense Bayona builds through both the use of shadows and slow-tracking shots are top-notch. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are also as charismatic as ever, making this a blockbuster to enjoy over the weekend.

2

The Wolverine (2013)

As fans wait for confirmation that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in Avengers: Doomsday next month, The Wolverine arrives on HBO Max at the right time, allowing fans to get up to date on Logan’s journey. It is a different kind of X-Men movie, focusing on Wolverine’s psyche after Jean Grey’s death in X-Men: The Last Stand and taking the action away from the X-Mansion, isolating Logan with a past connection in Japan.

The Wolverine has plenty of exciting action sequences for superhero fans, with Logan fighting samurai throughout the Marvel movie. This is a mature, vulnerable look at Wolverine that laid the foundation for the final movie in Jackman’s trilogy as the X-Men character and one of the best superhero movies of all time, which was the Oscar-nominated Logan, directed by James Mangold, who also helmed The Wolverine. As such, if you only ever watched Logan, don’t miss out on The Wolverine.

1

Red Sparrow (2018)

Jennifer Lawrence will return to the big screen with The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping on November 20, so for those wanting to get ready for the actress’ major return, Red Sparrow is a thrilling movie on HBO Max. The R-rated spy thriller sees Lawrence give life to Dominika, a former ballerina who ends up becoming a spy tasked with seducing her targets after an injury leads her to joining the demanding school for intelligence officers known as “Sparrows.”

This is a more nuanced, psychological take on the spy thriller genre, taking a slow-burn approach focused on developing Lawrence’s Dominika, rather than just full-on action all the time. Red Sparrow is already rising on streaming, currently ranked as HBO Max’s 6th most-watched movie in the United States, so you might want to check it out.